Glass or plastic vessels modelled on the original Petri dish remain a standard for culturing cells. Such vessels however lack effectiveness for specific applications such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF). For example, in IVF, a Petri dish may not be most suited for culturing multiple eggs at once. Furthermore, it is difficult to locate a fertilised egg or to monitor the growth or progress of an egg on a Petri dish.
Improvements are known that place a number of small indented wells on a single dish. This allows multiple eggs to be fertilised in close proximity, which has been related to improved embryo viability. Indented wells may also make it easier to locate eggs and monitor them with various automated systems. Other improvements are known that employ a spoked-wheel design to keep eggs in close proximity for identification.
The present invention aims to overcome problems with the prior art and/or provide an alternative for cell culture.
Reference to any prior art in the specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia or any other jurisdiction or that this prior art could reasonably be expected to be ascertained, understood and regarded as relevant by a person skilled in the art.